What the what? The RCMP have been called in to investigate missing gold – potentially millions of dollars’ worth – from The Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa. What does this mean for consumers & citizens? consumer? I’m on the case, and Stephen Sapp, associate professor of finance and Bank of Montreal Faculty Fellow at the Richard Ivey School of Business, in London, Ont., helps me out with just the facts, and gives me a quick lesson on the loonie.
Q: What does the missing gold mean for the Canadian economy?
A: There isn’t a direct impact at all. If this missing gold had been from the Bank of Canada, then it could have actually meant something. Instead, this is much more like any other company that is missing the inputs into its production. It’s not a good thing, because gold’s valuable, and this is essentially a crown corporation that has lost something very valuable, and in that respect that’s where the problem lies: If they don’t find the missing gold, the Canadian taxpayer may be on the hook for it. Although as a corporation that’s self-sustaining, it will probably just record a loss this year.
Q: Is there still a connection between gold and the dollar: Are we on a gold standard?
A: If Canada were on a gold standard, basically for every dollar the bank of dollar the Bank o Canada would have to have a certain amount of gold in its vaults. We were on that system up to around 1917 and briefly in the 1920s, but since then, we haven’t been. One of the reasons the bank keeps the gold is for worst case scenarios: If Canada has some obligations it has to meet and people lose confidence in the Canadian dollar, they still have confidence in gold. It means the country still has a certain amount of purchasing power, and that’s why it would have potentially been more of an issue if the bank had lost the gold. But that’s a vague thing, because it’s not a formal support.
Q: So what is our dollar backed by?
A: It’s the same sort of thing as the U.S. dollar, which is backed by the full faith and confidence of the U.S. government. The Canadian dollar is freely floating so its value moves up and down based on the supply and demand of Canadian assets. When we see it rising, like it is now, that’s because the price of oil is going up. Canada is a net exporter of oil and people have to buy oil from Canada and they do it with U.S. dollars that then get converted to Canadian dollars. That pushes the demand for Canadian dollars up, so the dollar goes up in value.
Feb
13
There’s a double-feature of money-related films opening today: The International and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Is this a sign that financial matters have truly become entrenched in pop culture, or am I just noticing this more?
Check out the trailers:
I was very excited about The International – a movie where the villains are evil bankers! (I knew it!) Plus, Clive Owen! But I was disappointed by the film: While there were a few good lines, the necessary exposition about the mysterious International Bank of Business and Credit wanting to control debt to gain global power was leaden and academic. And with the exception of one balletic shoot-’em-up scene in New York’s Guggenheim Museum, the film crawled along at a rate that made the TSX look positively robust.
I have more to say about Confessions of a Shopaholic because I’m so ambivalent about it. First, the good: The film was a beautifully-styled fantasy with comely actors, eye-grabbing colours and lots of fanciful outfits. And as the main character, would-be fashion magazine writer Rebecca Bloomwood, Isla Fisher proved talented at pratfalls — the girl is willing. But, the bad: It reinforces every stereotype of women being irresponsible, ditzy, frenzied consumers – not to mention a few improbable notions of journalism. And, having just written a feature for Chatelaine on the dangers and struggles of real-life shopaholism, the movie felt both irresponsible and out of touch with the times.
I’m going back into the vault to come up with a Top Ten of Money Films: Anyone have any suggestions?
Jan
16
Good evening to all,
Food budgets and how to eat well, but without emptying the wallet have got my wheels turning. Tonight I was testing recipes for EAT magazine. It’s for the spring issue and my topic is brunch – can’t spoil too much, but the main dish is a potato tortilla topped with smoked salmon. Basically it’s a lot of potatoes cooked in a little egg and garnished with piles of pink smoked salmon.
Here’s the rough breakdown:
4 Yukon Gold potatoes – $2.86
8 eggs – I used organic – about $3.84
1 onion – $0.42
1/2 170g pkg smoked salmon – $5
add on an additonal $2 for olive oil and dried seasonings
Grand total: $14.12
Not too bad – serves 6 – as long as there’s a side dish – otherwise 4 hungry people could easily devour it.
Now, where am I going with all of this…..
Due to the nature of my job, I often get to shop and cook on someone else’s dollar. While I do keep cost in mind, it’s different than spending your own money. But after the coke vs milk article I’ve really been paying attention.
I’d like to know….what do most people spend on making a typical weeknight dinner for 4? Is $15 reasonable? Is $20? What about $25 to $30?
Once we figure out the bottom line – why don’t we put out a recipe challenge?
Please give me your feedback.
Thanks,
jennifer
